Method and apparatus for preparing a bonding wire

摘要

A method and an apparatus for preparing a bonding wire, such as gold wire, drawn in contact-free manner from a bonding wire spool mounted in rotary manner about its longitudinal axis and supplied to a bonding device for forming circuits on electronic components. The apparatus constructed as a subassembly essentially comprises an electromotively-driven bonding wire spool carrier arranged on a support plate and a removal station provided with an optronic sensor. The bonding wire is deflected by means of air flows (P' or Q') for forming a bonding wire reserve in the removal station and the wire position is scanned by the optronic sensor. In the case of a decreasing bonding wire reserve, a signal is produced as a function of the bonding wire position, which is processed in a signal evaluation unit and is transmitted to a control unit, by means of which an electromotive drive operatively connected with the spool carrier is operated.